I see you, fellow fairweather cyclist
I donāt mind when itās been cold and icy. Donāt mind the wind up to a point. Precipitation can get in the bin though.
Wind is my worst one. Unless itās a tailwind.
I gave up cycling to work yesterday morning, but my journey back was amazing.
Was that ride you did the other day all roads? Iāve done a fair proportion of that route myself in the last couple of years, and keep meaning to stop making the excuse of all those muggings and get back out there again soon, once the weather gets just a teensy bit nicer.
No, a lot was off-road/bridleway/gravel/forest paths. A lot of fun!
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Makes sense. I was wondering what the diversion towards Croydon was all about. I try to avoid diverting towards Croydon if possible.
But even the roads are quite pretty and rustic down that way arenāt they. Nice chance to see a horse or two.
Haha yeah I really enjoyed the whole route and it didnāt feel like we were in the city at all.
Iāve just signed up to my first cyclocross event this Sunday at Herne Hill velodrome.
EEK!
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Raced a bike tonight.
Had a fucking meltdown tho as i was clipped in and its a trackstand start with someone holding your saddle and i couldnt get over the mental block so ended up screaming and saying i couldnt do it.
Finally managed it by just not trackstanding and having one foot down.
Oh yeah and the cops tried to shut us down. Twiceš¤£
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Finally (I think) getting back on top of things after two months of calf issues. Saw a physio a fortnight ago, and she diagnosed essentially the opposite to what the doctor said - I had a minor calf strain that would have healed quite quickly, but the main problem was that the incident in question massively compressed my calf muscle when it was already in a state of full contraction - result, a minor strain in the surrounding tissue, but also sent it into severe spasm that the calf muscles instantly learned as an instinctive response to dynamic load. So all the reoccurrences of the injury I felt were in fact just the muscles panicking and going into spontaneous cramp, which to me felt very much like I was tearing the muscle again. And overly loading my good calf meant it started going into spontaneous spasm as wellā¦ but the first thing the physio told me was to get back on the bike, which was such a relief to hear, and she gave me exercised to help my calves learn to cope with load again without panicking, i also have very inflexible ankles and weak hips that cause my knees to collapse, so iāve got strengthening exercises and stretches to do there. iāve got a very long way to go before iām back to normal - still getting sudden stabbing cramps out of nowhere, even at rest - but they stretch off and generally everythingās feeling a bit tender and stretched but getting stronger. And Iām back on the bike and slowly regaining confidence, strength and fitness again, so hurray!
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Good luck. Take it carefully, I donāt think you realise what a monster you are on a bike.
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I went outside today. I took it nice and easy, my calves behaved and it was far too sunny & warm for my full winter gear getup 
I was only planning a 20-mile out and back to my parentsā house, but felt good enough to extend it to 2 hours and 31 miles. If I can do roughly the same again tomorrow (probly inside, the weatherās supposed to be crap again) Iāll be overjoyed
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I did my first tracklocross event today and won a prize!!!
Basically i came dead fuckling last after shitting myself after one lap but they gave me a prize for āthe spirit of cyclocrossāā¦
I came home with a Ā£100 hiplock!!!
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Got a new bike!
I bought a heavy old Dutch bike when I moved here for Ā£70 off someone on Facebook marketplace. Served me pretty well aside from a dodgy back wheel but it had sat unused for a few months after it went again. Put it back on Marketplace and sold it on for Ā£40, so I got pretty good value for money from it overall.
Anyway, finally pursued by dream of being a fixie (well, single speed) wanker. Was in Decathlon looking for a bike for my eldest and got to check out their Elops city bikes. For Ā£250, it looked like the kind of thing I wouldnāt sweat about locking up outside and it had a lot of good reviews.
I love it! Feels so fast and responsive after the Dutch bike which probably weighed twice as much. Find the handlebars quite narrow (Iām more used to riding a cargo bike) but Iām sure Iāll adapt. Cycling is back baby. Itās good again. Awoo.
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Look how clean that chain is! 
If you end up hating the bars after a few months itās very easy to swap them with something wider. Just need an Allen key or two.
These single speeds look great but the only thing theyāre lacking iirc is mounts for mudguards and a rack
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My Strava feed is full of exhortations to send you messages welcoming you back into the fold after such a long time.
So well done 
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Yeah I did what felt like my first āspringā ride of the year yesterday. Nothing major, just twelve miles of take it easy flat laps, but doing it with slightly less warm clothing and getting that slight feeling of tiredness in the legs afterwards made me feel quite optimistic that Iām going to start putting the miles in and more importantly enjoying it quite soon.
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Iāve broken my maintenance stand after years of good use. Any recommendations for a decent replacement? Size isnāt really an issue as I have plenty of space in my shed to leave it set up.
Iāve got a Park one like this I used to have a cheaper one from Lidl or Aldi but the Park is so much better, more stable, clamps around the seat post easily and folds down when needed. It does feel quite expensive but I use it every week, either for maintenance or cleaning and over the years the cost has been more than justified through use.
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